Ok so I discovered I have internet in NYC and was able to bring along my computer so I'll try to find time to write if I feel inspired…but if I'm too busy to think about writing then do forgive me. C'mon, it's New York!

Daryl tossed the string of squirrels on the chair next to Lori, the way she placed a hand on her mouth to hold back the nausea made his sour mood lighten a tiny bit. Lori was the most easily nauseated pregnant woman he'd ever encountered.

"Oh…god…" she stood quickly and ran to the edge of the camp where she dry heaved a few times. Everyone shot him nasty looks as he shrugged and grabbed the squirrels and headed to the meadow to clean them away from Lori's sight.

The sun beat down on his back through the thin material of his shirt as he leaned over the first squirrel to start cleaning it and that's how he knew someone was behind him because soon he felt the heat ease up because of someone's shadow falling over him.

"Need some help?" he heard that all too familiar voice ask, quiet as a mouse.

"Been doin' this my whole life, I think I can handle it," Daryl snapped, peeling the squirrel's skin back in a single yank. Heck, in this world even squirrel furs would be valuable beyond estimation when winter set in.

"I have no doubt about that," Carol assured him, squatting next to him and picking up one of the squirrels. It gazed up at her with blank black eyes and she felt a twinge of sadness for the poor creature, but she pulled the knife on Daryl's right hip out of the sheath and started to cut the rings around the legs and tail base of it as she had seen him do a thousand times. If you did it this way you could pull the whole skin off in a single piece.

Daryl didn't reply to her, he simply kept working on the squirrel in front of him but he watched her work out of the corner of his eye.

He had his first squirrel cleaned in no time while Carol was still trying to get the skin started to tear off, she was starting to get frustrated and had pulled out a small chunk of fur as she tugged at the skin. Daryl rolled his eyes and grabbed the squirrel from her.

"C'mon, Carol, don't ya know nothin'?" he growled. He made a few quick cuts under the fur and gripped the skin between his thumb and pointer finger and yanked off the hide quick and easy.

Carol watched in disappointment, a feeling of that old familiar insufficiency rise up in her for a moment but she pushed it down, knowing that he wasn't trying to hurt her and that his anger at her was stemming from his failure at finding Sophia that morning.

"I'll do it right this time," she said softly, picking up a new squirrel.

Daryl gave a curt nod but said nothing else for a very long time as they worked in silence, the sound of birds and distant chatter from the camp were the only sounds to be heard. Finally, Daryl threw his half skinned squirrel in the dirt and chunked the knife into the ground, blade stuck deep in the earth from the force behind it. Carol looked up in shock, her fingers gripped and ready to skin.

"Fuck, Carol, I'm sorry I said that," Daryl's voice sounded slightly strained and yet very, very angry. "I just thought maybe today would be the day I found her, ya know? You have any idea how aggravating it is to be so close but still come back empty handed every single time?"

Carol set her squirrel down and nodded, not meeting Daryl's eyes. Honestly, she didn't know quite how that felt, but she sure knew how it felt to be prevented from going out to look for Sophia herself while everyone else just seemed to carry on and forget that her little girl was out there still…everyone but Daryl.

"I ain't givin' up though," Daryl's voice lost its cutting edge and Carol found herself able to look up at him. She gave him a small smile and she noticed one corner of his mouth lift just ever so slightly, but she noticed the spark of light that he had in his eyes at that small moment and that was all she needed to know that he was telling her the truth. He would hunt for her daughter until he found her…one way or the other.

"I know," she replied, placing a hand on his arm as a gesture of confidence. It didn't have the effect she expected.

Daryl's skin twitched under her hand and he instantly jerked his arm out of her reach, his eyes went wide and a look of fear flitted in and out of them. Immediately he gave a low chuckle and muttered something about "tickles" and picked his knife and squirrel back up, continuing the cleaning.

Carol laid her hand limply on the ground for a second before regaining her wits. What the hell was that? She had barely touched him and he acted like she had put a red hot iron on his arm instead of her hand…and that's when she recognized the signs. The silent withdrawn attitude, the weak slumping shrug of his shoulders whenever he received any sort of praise, the eyes constantly watching everyone's movements, the twitchiness and the nervous habit of chewing on his thumb, the sudden withdraw from touch…these were all things she could relate to. These were attributes of an abuse victim.

"Daryl…?" she began carefully, not sure what to say.

But Daryl just grunted and stood up, his six squirrels cleaned and ready to go. He picked up the one she had managed to actually gut and clean and added to his group and started walking away. Carol jumped up and followed, a bloody, skinless squirrel in hand, and rode his heels right back to camp.

Lori had to run off and heave again as the two of them walked past the campfire to the board where the skins were laid to dry out. But neither of them met anyone's eyes as they set the squirrels down and then made their way to the RV.

"Are you going to talk to me or just keep storming off like you usually do?" Carol finally worked up the nerve to ask. Daryl turned around so quickly that she collided into his chest, he grabbed her arm effortlessly to keep her from falling backwards but released her as soon as she regained her balance. She found herself looking into those now familiar blue eyes, but they were full of rage and she stepped back instinctively. Ed's eyes used to look that way just before he would backhand her if she ever got cheeky with him but Daryl's hands remained at his sides, clenched into fists, his knuckles white.

"If I had something t' say, I would say it. You just keep your nose outta my business." the voice that came out of Daryl Dixon's mouth was low and dangerous and she could only remember ever hearing him sound that way one other time…when Merle had tried to coax a girl named Cassie off into the woods back at the quarry once, Daryl had seen Merle working her towards the camp's edge and had pushed his brother away with an aggression that Carol now remembered had terrified Cassie more than Merle's drunken advances. Daryl had stared his brother down and told him in that same deadly tone: "You pull this shit one more time, brother, and it'll be the last mistake you ever make."

And so Carol found herself taking a step back, suddenly feeling that she was in over her head. But Daryl's reaction had all but sealed the truth for her and she felt her heart squeeze uncomfortably and longed to do something to show him she wasn't trying to push him, but she knew she would be wise to keep her mouth shut at this point. Daryl Dixon was cornered, ashamed and hurting…and that meant that, at that moment, he was dangerous.

"What?" Daryl asked darkly when Carol stepped back, "You think I'm gonna hit ya?"

Carol shook her head, but she was ashamed at herself for it because inside she couldn't help but wonder if he actually would have if she had pressed the issue.

"Well good," Daryl took a step forward and shrank the space between them drastically, "Because that's something I would never, NEVER do, ya hear me?"

Carol nodded, eyes wide. She made sure not to retreat further and prove herself wrong with an action of distrust.

"Believe it or not," Daryl's tone was suddenly very tired sounding, "I'm not a complete animal."

"I never have believed that," Carol whispered quietly. Daryl looked at her for a few more seconds before sniffing angrily and disappearing inside his tent, leaving her standing outside feeling shocked and confused.

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Man, Daryl is a fun character to write about! There is so much to him, so many different aspects and such a shady past that you can really tweak and play around with since we really aren't 100% sure of what happened to him.

I, for one, think the Daryl/Carol pairing is a brilliant idea and I hope the writers keep developing it in the seasons to come. They were so unexpected and at first I was like "Eh…that's weird…" but the more I watch their scenes together the more I like the idea of that pairing. They work well together, despite the age difference.